The Hunter and The Hunted
by McNerdybird
Summary: "Outside the window was a large, hairy, sneering face. A grin was etched along the face like a badly created Frankenstein monster, and two large canines protruded from it. The eyes were yellow, and seemed to pierce into the soul of all who looked at it." The war has been won, but there are still battles to be had. Contains violence.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello. This is my first story here at Fanfiction. Of course, the rights to Harry Potter remain with J.K. Rowling. You might want to put on some spooky ambience on Youtube while you read this. Hope you enjoy reading this!**

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 **22:00 25th May 1998**

 **Millweek Forest, Surrey**

The night mist curled around the skeleton trees that stood straight like horrible fingers with dead skin hanging off them. The wind rustled softly through the leaves, as if whispering to each other about the intruders. Somewhere in the distance an owl hooted mournfully. Dead twigs snapped like necks underfoot, as the group of ten, clad in black outdoor clothes, cautiously creeped along the forest path. Footsteps pattered lightly. This was Millweek Forest, in the south of England.

It was the 25th May, twenty-three days after the great battle that had killed so many. They had managed to win the battle that day, but unfortunately someone very dangerous escaped. He was probably the third most dangerous person throughout Britain and he had a penchant for eating meat…raw. The nation had been warned about Fenrir Greyback, the killer werewolf and were alerted to the beginning of a manhunt on the 4th May.

The manhunt had eventually tracked Greyback to this desolate forest, after a local farmer had seen him kill one of their sheep and drag it off. That is why the ten Aurors were here, in this tense, crisp night.

They were led by John Dawlish. A talented man, in his late thirties, and with two young kids he would have rather have been at home with them and his wife. But, he sighed, it was for their safety too he was out here. He would do anything to keep his family safe. That was why he had obeyed the Ministry, when that Umbridge lady had made him do horrible jobs with him. If he had been living on his own he probably would have resigned in protest. Dawlish just wanted to get his men through this safely and capture that werewolf.

Dawlish glanced round at the nine men following, rather warily, in his footsteps. Behind him was his young protégé, Daniel Parker. Parker was kind hearted and eager but, Dawlish found him, slightly naïve. That should disappear with experience, he surmised. Parker was rather handsome with his rusty brown hair.

Just then, Dawlish noticed something that froze him to the spot. Parker almost walked into him. Up ahead, on a slight incline, stood a rickety, old cabin. But that was not which instilled the most fear in him. Oh no, it was much worse than that.

The small windows of the cabin had been boarded up but one of them was uncovered enough so that Dawlish had glimpsed light through it. That meant that someone had put on a light. However, the light disappeared as soon as it had appeared. But it was there long enough for Dawlish to notice a great big silhouette; almost bear-like, he thought.

The others, who were all looking out to the side hadn't noticed anything. Dawlish gulped. "What's up, boss?" whispered Parker.

"There someone in that cabin over there," Dawlish replied his eyes glued to the cabin. Not so much as a plank creaked.

Parker now had his eyes, round with terror, fixated on the cabin. He gulped even louder than Dawlish. Suddenly, his expression changed and he became aware that he was staring. "Well, we better go say hello, right boss?"

"Yep," Dawlish said, heavily.

Parker turned to notify the others, and they walked up towards the cabin. A twig snapped noticeably but it was not from their group. This noise came from the trees. The Aurors' heads swivelled immediately to that area. Eyes scanned the trees but found nothing.

"Must have just been a scared rabbit or something," Parker suggested.

They continued up to the cabin, until they came right up to the door. They were close enough now to smell rotting meat. The stench assaulted their noses. Someone swore. The wood was infected with worms and was crumbling away. The door didn't even reach the floor as there was a hole at the bottom. However, Dawlish and his men could not hear a sound emanating out of the cabin.

Dawlish positioned himself in front of the door so that he would be the first to enter. He tensed a moment, and closed his eyes.

A picture of his wife and kids entered his mind. Their image seemed to give him the courage to give the order: "Simmons, knock in the door."


	2. Chapter 2

The Auror then kicked in, or mainly through, the rotten door which collapsed on to the floor. Dawlish stepped cautiously over it, followed closely by Parker. Silence echoed from every corner. Not a man moved, as they waited for Dawlish and Parker to give the all clear.

The other Aurors waited outside, keeping watch. The cool night air crackled with tension. Another owl hooted in the distance. Wind stroked the trees, which croaked with every movement.

All of a sudden, they heard Parker yell. They rushed in wands at the ready to find the floor of the cabin littered with bones and half-eaten meat. How could one person eat so much? There was a table, but it hadn't seemed to have fulfilled its function. Dawlish was checking the cabin and Parker was doubled over, evidently feeling sick.

If the smell was bad outside, it was absolutely petrifying inside. It made the eyes of the men water. There really was not much to search but their leader was frantically searching for something. "How? How? Where is it?" he was muttering to himself, stooped over.

"What are you looking for sir?" asked Jacobs, in a deep voice.

"Someone was in here. I'm sure of it. There's got to be another way out of here," replied Dawlish, he quickly stood back up straight, then almost fell over. He swore loudly. "Look out that window."

It turned out one of the windows was only barely covered by wood. The men slowly followed Dawlish's gaze, dreading what they would see. The sight they saw would remain with all of them for a very long time, and would haunt their nightmares.

Outside the window was a large, hairy, sneering face. A grin was etched along the face like a badly created Frankenstein monster, and two large canines protruded from it. The eyes were yellow, and seemed to pierce into the soul of all who looked at it.

Dawlish was the first to recover: "everyone get out and round! Don't let him escape!" He scrambled to the door, past the statues frozen in horror, pulling out his wand. But before he got out the door, blackness had enveloped the cabin. All Dawlish could hear, was the loud, panicked breathing of his men. In the absolute darkness, he missed the door and crashed into the wall forcing the others to jump horribly.

"Peruvian darkness powder!" Dawlish heard Jacobs shout.

"Was that crash you, boss?" asked Parker's voice.

"Yeah," gasped Dawlish, winded but slowly getting to his feet. He quickly found the door. "All right. Everyone, the door is where my voice is. Let's get out of this cabin."

They slowly filed out of the cabin but not before Parker tripped on something round. He couldn't be sure, but his reached out to grab the object, and his hands closed around what he felt was a human skull. He shivered in disgust.

When all the Aurors had gotten out of the cabin, and Dawlish had checked around the cabin, he gathered them all around. He checked them for injuries. Gladly, none were hurt. "At least, we now know we're in the right place. There's no point chasing after him now as we have no idea where he went. So, we should just continue along the path and hope that we come across him again." He didn't tell them that he was banking on Greyback watching them right now. "All right men. Let's go."

Thunder and lightning ripped through the air and a torrent of rain poured down on them, as they patrolled nervously down the forest path. The rain drenched the rather pitiful men and a smell of damp began to spread. A few of the Aurors slipped in the wet mud, covering their lower halfs. Everyone, had their wands out and were covering their sectors.

The rain was so heavy now that Parker could barely keep his eyes open. As he walked through a particularly swamp-like section, his left foot become entrenched in the mud and he fell, twisting his ankle. Jacobs, behind him, pulled him out and supported him as they continued to patrol along behind Dawlish.

For his part, Dawlish displayed undying determination. Despite the heavy rain, he remained completely upright and had his eyes wide open, scanning the murky forest. He ploughed through the mud as if it were a flat bowls green.

In the back, Simmons kept watch behind them. He suddenly saw a strange silhouette in the trees. He peered closely, his heart starting to stammer. He sighed inwardly as he discovered that it was just a small tree.

But just then, a phantom-like shape shot across his vision. It melted into the trees. "Sir!" Simmons yelled forwards. Nobody turned. "Sir!" The noise of the rain prevented the others from hearing him.


	3. Chapter 3

Dawlish continued onwards, oblivious to Simmons. Surely Greyback would attack again, he thought. He had to be around here somewhere. Maybe he'd judged wrong. Maybe Greyback had fled. He stopped suddenly.

A sinister man stood in the middle of the path, completely still. The man sneered wolfishly. It was Fenrir Greyback. "Everyone up here!" Dawlish yelled above the rain. The others, more seeing Dawlish than hearing him, rushed up. They pulled out their wands and pointed them at the werewolf. Luckily, it wasn't a full moon tonight.

Ten against one. "Give up, Greyback. You're outnumbered." Greyback just stood there in the same pose, his sneer gradually increasing. What's he got up his sleeve? Dawlish wondered. He racked his brains hurriedly.

All of a sudden, Dawlish sensed flashes of light behind them. Four of his men collapsed unconscious into the mud. As the men turned to see what had happened, Greyback shot another spell at them, downing another.

Behind them were four more werewolves. His pack. The remaining five Aurors ran into the trees to give them some cover to recuperate. "I no longer think I'm outnumbered Auror!" growled Greyback. He'd halved their numbers in about two seconds! "Our intel was off! He's not alone!" shouted Simmons. "No? Really?" Parker retaliated, shielding himself behind a tree that was soon covered in an explosion, then began to topple. "I hadn't noticed!" he yelled as he ducked behind another tree.

Dawlish ran out from behind his cover, fired two spells while running, then hid behind another tree. The first spell missed but the second hit one of the werewolves, who fell.

One of the werewolves had managed to sneak behind the trees and launched himself into Parker, who hit a tree with a crunch. He collapsed against it, his head low.

In return, Simmons managed to Stupefy the werewolf, from behind a tall tree.

"Where's Greyback? Where is he?" Dawlish muttered to himself. Greyback had disappeared. He looked over at Jacobs, who was battling it out with one of the werewolves. They were firing spells at each other, when the werewolf broke it off and raced like a wolf along the ground at jumped up at Jacobs throat.

Jacobs just managed to pull up his wand in time and send the werewolf flying. The werewolf growled and shook his head, then got back up and threw himself at Jacobs. Dawlish wasn't able to see the result as the other werewolf sent a spell into the tree above Dawlish, who winced at the close shave.

He poked his head out from behind the tree, just as another spell was sent his way. He blocked it and sent a returning spell. This caught the werewolf who tumbled into the mud, unconscious.

Dawlish, turned – a werewolf was right in his face. He could see the terrible fangs in its mouth. The werewolf stopped in its tracks, and slowly fell backwards. Dawlish had quickly hit it with a stunning spell.

Behind the werewolf, he saw Jacobs lying on the ground, stirring feebly, covered in blood. Simmons was nowhere to be seen. Parker was slumped against a tree and Rodriguez, the other Auror who had retreated to the trees, hadn't made it very far into the trees before evidently behind stopped. The other Aurors were still lying in the path.

A rustling noise snaked through the trees above Dawlish. The trees were so tightly packed together that Dawlish couldn't really see up them. He noticed a body on a branch. It was moaning quietly. Simmons!

That was where Greyback had gone to. He had climbed the trees! Dawlish listened carefully for anymore rustling. Then began to run out to path, where there were no trees. He was almost at the edge of the trees. So close! Almost there!

But before he could get out he felt something heavy fall on him and was pinned against the ground. "You lose Auror!" a voice snarled in his ear.


	4. Chapter 4

Dawlish was pinned against the ground. There was nothing he could do against the great mass of animal weighing his body down. He still struggled fruitlessly. All the while, Greyback was laughing sinisterly. Dawlish could feel his hot breath on the back of his neck. "Now Auror, I'm about to rip into your neck." He cackled maniacally. He canines slowly surrounded his neck. He could feel the pointed edge of them.

Then, for some reason. Greyback stopped and pulled his head back up. He was growling ferociously. He began to stand up. What was going on? However, Dawlish was momentarily blinded as white hot pain seared his right shoulder. It felt like something really heavy had landed on it. He felt Greyback release him and walk off.

Dawlish tried to turning his head around so that he could see what had happened. He had to twist his neck awkwardly, increasing the pain in his shoulder. He saw that he had been stabbed with a large, sharp knife. However, he could see Greyback standing over a crumpled body. It was Parker, who seemed on the edge of consciousness. He was slumped against a tree, ignoring the presence of the werewolf. His wand hung limply at his side, He must have hit Greyback with a stunning spell. However, Greyback wasn't going to be taken down by just one spell.

Dawlish realised what he had to do as Greyback bent down over Parker, who still didn't show that there was a dangerous werewolf next to him. Dawlish reached his arm around and grabbed onto the hilt of the knife. He grabbed on, and gulped loudly. He anticipated the pain.

Greyback swiped at Parker, leaving long gashes across his face. Dawlish pulled on the knife, and screamed in agony. His vision began to black out. No. Don't fall asleep. The pain began to increase. An image of his family popped into his head. He gave one final yank and the knife came free. The pain subsided but he felt a warm liquid gushing out over his back. He ignored it.

He lay on his back and held the blood-soaked knife in front of him. He felt himself becoming weak. Here goes, he thought. Then he threw it.

It was out of his hands now. If the knife missed, they would lose. If it hit he had a chance.

Greyback closed in on Parker. His jaws mere millimetres from Parker.

The world seemed to slow down as Dawlish watched the arc of the knife. It was spinning and spinning. He was sure it was about to drop short. But it soared towards Greyback then plunged into his back. Greyback roared horrifically and reared up. He ran towards Dawlish in anger, teeth bared. He came closer and closer. He now closed in on Dawlish, spread out on the floor.

Dawlish, the sent a tripping spell at Greyback who crashed into the mud. Dawlish then fired several stunning spells at his face and then he stopped moving.


End file.
